Khirbet Makkus

Khirbet Makkus is the Arabic name for an ancient ruin site . The place is northeast of Ashkelon on the land of Moshav Nir Israel . The site was first described in a survey in 1870 and then repeatedly in later years. An excavation has not yet taken place.

A search of the archives of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) found correspondence between British officer and PEF member Victor L. Trumper and the PEF's London office. In it, Trumper reports on a letter from an Australian soldier who reports that ancient mosaics have been found near his position. The soldier wants to remain anonymous because his superior officer does not want to publish the find. At the same time, the soldier asks that, in the event of an excavation, the mosaic should be brought to Australia, as is the case e.g. This happened, for example, with the shellal mosaic or parts of a mosaic from the vicinity of Jericho , later identified as the Synagogue of Naʿaran .

After evaluating the drawings enclosed with the correspondence, it is an east-facing church with two aisles, i.e. a typical Byzantine basilica . The width should have been about 16 m. Three Greek inscriptions have been preserved, only one of them complete. For paleographical reasons, the inscriptions should be dated to the first half of the 6th century. This also corresponds to the supplementary attempt, according to which Bishop Dionysius of Ashkelon (between 518 and 536) could be mentioned in one of the inscriptions.

Apparently the mosaics were covered when the troops withdrew. To date, the exact location of the building has not been localized due to excavations that have not yet been carried out.

literature

• Avraham Negev, Shimon Gibson (ed.): Makkus (Khirbet). In: Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Jerusalem 2001, p. 309. ISBN 0-8264-1316-1
• Shimon Gibson; Fanny Vitto; Leah Di Segni: An Unknown Church with Inscriptions from the Byzantine Period at Khirbet Makkûs near Julis. In: Liber Annuus 48 (1998), 315-334.